Is Your Corporate Identity and Branding Trustworthy?

July 15, 2019

Strategic branding credibility instills buying confidence.

As the information superhighway (AKA the internet) expanded at exponentially rapid rates, so did the skepticism of consumers. With the ability to read reviews of any company, product, or service at the drop of a hat, brands have been forced to up their game in order to obtain and retain valuable customers. Whether analyzing Gen X, Millenials, or Gen Z we can be fairly certain each group is always trying to peek behind the curtain of clever advertising and see who can actually back up what they claim to represent and deliver.

Here are a few business corporate identity and branding ideas to make sure you are authentic and credible.

Determine who you are as a company and what you stand for.

If you’re a fairly new company, this could be as simple as examining your origins and why or how you started in the first place. For brands that have been around for a while, review where you have been, how your company, products, and services have changed, and where you want to go in the future. These are questions that are good to revisit from time to time in order to stay on brand or determine that a change in branding is necessary. First, think of what makes your products and services unique, and how they solve a problem. What emotions or beliefs surround those problems or the lives of your customers? Perhaps your product is more economical or environmentally friendly. Also consider the culture of your company, products, and services. If your offices tend to be a little more casual, let that show within your branding.

Build trust with your customers through consistent communication and service.

Once you have established your core values, be sure to remain true to them in all contact with customers. Be very careful when adding new ideas or stretching the existing values in order to reach a demographic you think has a lot of potential buyers. Luxury brands lose status when advertising as inexpensive. Economic brands can cause customers to look elsewhere when appearing too extravagant. That’s not to say you can’t customize the user experience in different ads within the same campaign. Identify the central values of your customer base, and then identify the demographics within. Create the strategy of the messages for each group based on shared ideals, but craft the copy and design to resonate more effectively on an individual level. Cultivating consistent communication applies to customer service as well. Preserve the company culture and create an environment that inspires your team to live up to the company standards day in and day out. Be sure all employees have a thorough knowledge of the company creed, and equip them with a steadfast guide for how to provide consistent service at every touch point.

Harbor a philosophy of transparency for better or worse.

Any brand that looks too good to be true probably is. In the past, brands have been very careful to only show users a very manicured version of their company. Customers want to see how brands are actively living up to the claims they’ve made about what they believe in. A company that boasts a commitment to helping communities must have evidence of ongoing efforts to actually help communities. A brand that claims to have hundreds or thousands of satisfied customers should have reviews and testimonials to back that up. With the good, must come the bad. No one is perfect and mistakes are made. Ignoring mistakes will not make them go away, but owning up to them helps to further develop the trust of your customers.

Companies consistently report a huge spike in engagement whenever they have to send out an email correcting some previous blunder. Allowing bad reviews to remain on a product page lets customers know that you are listening, and allows new purchasers to make up their minds about what reported issues are relevant to them. Authenticity and credibility are two assets a company cannot buy. They cannot be added to a website with a few words and a cool picture, or conveyed through a couple of ads. In order to appear authentic, a brand must actually be authentic. Maintain a solid sense of self and stick to what you do best because it is what you believe in. Credibility comes with consistently following the values of your company, and giving your customers an honest experience.

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